In Portugal in English and Russian
In May we went to Portugal: 3 nights in Porto, 4 in Lisbon. And in total it turned out to be 8 days, because they flew in from Moscow on the morning of the first day, and flew back at 11 pm on the last day. We planned the trip well in advance. We took a free 4 hour walking tour in Porto with an English speaking guide named Eugenia. We read on the websites that it is generally customary to thank, from 10 to 20 euros per person, because the volunteers give all the best "to the fullest", which actually happened. You learn a lot when you do such tours at the start, they allow you to change the program, excluding the less important in favor of the more important. Well. My husband and I paid 20 euros from the nose, and our "partners" are Americans - there were 12 of them - not a cent. Thank you, smile and leave. Another mentality. Besides us, a young couple from India paid. Here with them and with us, Evgenia lingered and talked for another hour, after which we adjusted the plan. The next day we went to Coimbra. We climbed up the hill along the ideal pavements, where the oldest university in Europe is located with a stunning library in the Portuguese Baroque style. Not everyone visits Coimbra, but in vain! We have lasting impressions of her. The Sao Bento Station in Porto, the Lello bookstore, the Fado Guitar Museum are also brilliant! They watched with their mouths open. We climbed up (not to the end) in the Clerigos tower, examining the museum of history located inside on the floors and painting - great! Boat trip on the river *** - so-so. Doesn't add anything new, but takes away time and money.
Lisbon started with a visit to fado. We booked a restaurant and time ourselves - tour operators make cheats. Then a walking tour, also with an English-speaking guide, around Lisbon - we did not find any Russian-speaking free tours. We took the yellow and blue bus lines for the whole day. They took it for review, because they didn’t read anything good about them. Little is carried around the historical center - mainly the administrative center, transport arteries and a remake of glass and concrete. Losses in a boring bus tour were compensated by walking around Lisbon “on their feet”. We stood in line to the Santa Justa elevator and climbed to the observation deck, from where the whole of Lisbon was opened. Both the 19th century elevator and the view of Lisbon are worth it! Both in Porto and in Lisbon we stayed in hotels located in the historical center of the city. At prices, they are the same as in a new city, but everything that makes you go there is within walking distance. We did not use public transport, did not go down the subway and did not waste time traveling. And in the evenings they did not sit in a hotel room, but walked and dined among a multilingual and lively crowd of tourists.
From Lisbon we went on a one-day English-speaking tour to Sintra, Cascais, Estoril, Cape Roca, etc. I was impressed by the Templar Monastery and Pena Castle. Russian operators also have this tour. But why am I fixated on the Anglo-Saxons? Because a few years ago we took a full package from our people, but before we could enter the country, the company went out of business and the money was not returned to us.
But with the one-day tour "Obidos, Alcobaç a, Batalia and Tomar" on May 17, there was a problem. English-speaking operators offered fewer places to visit and for more money than Russian ones, and for the mentioned reason, I did not want to pay in advance for ours. Once burned, the second - did not want to. Unexpectedly, we came across the EXCURSIO service, which works with Russian tour operators everywhere. When booking, they do not require prepayment, giving customers the opportunity to pay for the tour upon arrival. And so it happened. I didn’t worry about my money, they picked us up at the hotel, brought us to the collection point, and after the tour they took us to the airport, from where we returned to Moscow.
And the last. I have never written reviews about tours, I have not advertised anyone and I do not advertise. I write kind words about EXCURSIO from the bottom of my heart out of gratitude. Because without their participation, this delightful trip along the route "Obidos, Alcobaç a, Batalia and Tomar" did not take place.
Alla